Vitamin and mineral supplements are recognized to be important primarily for those who have inadequate diets, including children. In order to alleviate the problem of improper diet, it has become common practice to supplement the diet with essential nutrients, such as by the use of vitamin pills, fortified beverages, and the like.
Of the several known vitamins and minerals, calcium and Vitamin C are recognized to be important. Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is considered one of the most essential since it plays an important role in collagen formation, teeth and bone formation and repair, and the prevention of scurvy. Ascorbic acid is found naturally in many fruits and vegetables, but the vitamin is water soluble and thus is not stored in the body for any appreciable period of time. For these reasons, ascorbic acid is commonly included in various fortified beverages now being marketed so that it may be consumed on a daily basis.
Several minerals are also necessary for complete nutrition, and calcium is one of the most vital of these elements. Calcium is the fifth most abundant element in the human body. It plays an important role in many physiological processes, including nerve and muscle functions. Calcium deficiency can interfere with muscular contraction and can also result in depletion of skeletal calcium. Osteoporosis is a recognized nutritional problem, and numerous calcium fortified compositions are presently being marketed in an attempt to. overcome this problem.
For the foregoing reasons, it is apparent that any nutritionally complete diet should contain ascorbic acid and calcium, as well as other recognized vitamins and minerals. Food scientists and nutritionists would like to increase the present day average consumption of Vitamin C and calcium. Since beverages are consumed on a daily basis by many people, packaged beverages become the ideal carrier to supply an increased amount of ascorbic acid and calcium.
Although packaged beverages are excellent carriers to supply Vitamin C and calcium, the Vitamin C activity deteriorates in the package during storage and after the package is opened and is awaiting complete consumption.
It is well known that ascorbic acid, in aqueous solutions, is rapidly oxidized by oxygen in the air. Upon exposure to air ascorbic acid is oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid. Storage for prolonged periods results in further reactions (with the loss of Vitamin C activity) to degradation products. These degradation products cause discoloration and browning which detract from the appearance and saleability of the beverage product.
It is also known that certain metals such as iron and copper, catalyze the deterioration of the ascorbic acid such that it is oxidized rapidly.
Attempts have been made to overcome the problem of browning and ascorbic acid degradation by adding additional ascorbic acid, erythorbic, acid, or other antioxidant. However, there are conflicting results in the literature as to the effectiveness of additional ascorbic acid and/or erythorbic acid, see for example Esselen et. al, "d-Isoascorbic as an Antioxidant", Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 37(3), 1945, Moore, E. L., "An Investigation of the Factors Involved in the Deterioration of Glass-Packed Orange Juice", doctor's dissertation, Massachusetts State College, 1942, and Bauernfeind J. C., Pinkert D. M., "Food Processing With added Ascorbic Acid", Advances in Food Research, 18:222-304, 1942, Katayama et. al, Shokuryo Kenkyusho Kenkyu Hokoku, (22):284-90.
Further, the references teach that ascorbic acid can actually contribute to the browning problem, see for example, Z. Berk, Braverman's Introduction To The Biochemistry of Foods, 158-159, 1976; Kacem, et al., "Nonenzymatic Browning in Aseptically Packaged Orange Drinks: Effect of Ascorbic Acid, Amino Acids and Oxygen", Journal of Food Science, Vol. 52, No. 6, 1987, pp. 1668-1672.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need to identify beverage formulations that contain calcium and Vitamin C, and are resistant to browning.
An object of the present invention is to provide calcium and Vitamin C containing beverage formulas which are resistant to browning particularly when packaged in oxygen permeable containers.
This and other objects will become apparent from the following detailed description.